LAWRENCE — Bill Self has built a legacy as Kansas basketball’s head coach.
Self has won a pair of national titles, in 2008 and 2022, and throughout his tenure at KU enjoyed numerous other successful seasons in the Big 12 Conference. He’s a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. So, why does Self, who’s a grandparent as well, feel a need — outside of loving it — to continue coaching?
Self was posed with that question on an episode of “Inside College Basketball Now” posted Aug. 13 to the CBS Sports College Basketball page on YouTube. He pointed out he doesn’t feel he needs to continue to coach. Instead, he feels he wants to continue to coach.
As much as the sport is different now, Self noted that all professions change and he’s excited to see how well he can continue to adjust. He wants to prove to himself he can do it in this new era and also hasn’t lost that love of coaching, teaching, and being around the guys. He doesn’t think he’s too old to adapt.
That’s not to say he doesn’t think the uncertainty surrounding the sport, and college athletics in general, is frustrating for everyone. He does. But it’s a matter of navigating aspects like transfer portal recruiting and building a roster within a financial budget, as he also watches how the sport as a whole deals with the eligibility questions currently swirling around the country.
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Here are some more takeaways from what Self had to say:
How does Bill Self look back upon last season?
Self isn’t putting blame on anyone, and noted he himself could have done better, but looking back on last season there’s disappointment and the feeling the Jayhawks were never whole the entire season. Darryn Peterson, the eventual No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, was so talented. But everyone only saw glimpses of that due to Peterson’s health issues.
Melvin Council Jr., Flory Bidunga and Tre White all thrived, and other players enjoyed success, but the group wasn’t able to play consistently with the same complement of players throughout the season. Everyone deals with injuries, Self knows that. But the lack of continuity of which team was on the court for KU made things challenging.
So, what did Bill Self think about essentially coaching two teams?
Self thought the best chance for that team to be great, without a doubt, was with Peterson. As much as the team without him was competitive, and could play with anyone, making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament would have been difficult. If things would have fallen right over the course of the season with Peterson, Self thought his Jayhawks could have.
Peterson did play as Kansas reached the round of 32, but there’ll remain the what-if of what could have been if Peterson was healthy all season. Roles were defined, Self allowed, but it’s also true Council’s role with Peterson in the game was different than what it was without Peterson available. KU enjoyed quality wins with Peterson in the game and without him, it just didn’t reach the heights it could have.
How close was Bill Self to retiring?
Self mentioned he made a mistake in the press conference following the NCAA Tournament loss to St. John’s, when he said he would take some time to see if he’d coach again. He noted he should have just said there wasn’t a decision to be made, so speculation wouldn’t have ensued. But at that moment he did think that was probably the last game he’d coach, in large part because of health issues in recent years which had him wondering why he was still coaching.
But he talked to doctors, developed a new plan and started to feel better. He jumped the gun, so to speak, out of nervousness. What he was told, though, was that if he wants to keep coaching he should keep coaching — because he’s healthy enough to do so.
There was a point that he thought the doctors would tell him he should retire, but that didn’t happen. He had thought about health issues in recent years that included missing the NCAA tournament in 2023 and more, such as at one point suffering a heart attack, but realized those problems were correctable. He’s good to go, now.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas basketball’s Bill Self shares reasons he's returning for 2026-27